As most of you probably know each year I run a comment leaderboard where if you get the first comment on a post you get one point and the top 3 at the end of the year get a prize. I didn’t get theΒ chance to announce the 2016 winners in January after Federer’s Australian Open exploits took up a bit more time than anticipated π but after totting up the scores here are the results…
2016 Comment Leaderboard Winners:
- Emerson
- Nambi
- Nakul
Prizes
It’s worked out quite well with the delay announcing winners as I’ve just stumbled on this t-shirt which I think is the peRFect prize. They’re not available yet but I’m hoping that I will be able to get my hands on three of them and send them out.
I’ll also give the option of a Β£25 gift voucher if you’d prefer which I can deliver instantly and you can choose whatever you like. Please drop me an email on [email protected] letting me know which option you prefer.
1st?
Winner!!!! Sooooo happy, thanks Jon!!!
What the ****? The 2016 comment leaderboard winner posts first comment on post declaring wiinner? Rigged! Very sad!
???
Cheer up Sid… Roger just won #18,we are all still happy about that ??????
I have just signed an executive order banning all Emerson’s from commenting without extreme vetting. Gotta keep this blog safe folks!
Judge: Jonathan, you have been blocked for signing the executive order which states that you will ban Emerson from commenting without extreme vetting. If you continue to sign scandalous orders and create repressive laws, the people from this blog will sue you!
?
Thanks Vik hahahaha
hahaha adding some spice here….
1?
Beat it..?
This counts? βΊοΈ
Thank you Jonathan for this blog π it’s a great place with great poeple ?
Thanks π
True thing…
Congrats to all winners!!!
Very humble in defeat Dippy, the mark of a great champion π Emerson just told me there are no draws in first commenting but if there were he would have been happy to share the prize with you.
True that
???
Congrats to all the winners!!! π
I don’t give a #$% who’s first, second, third, whatever.
But I’m VERY happy with the blog, including all comments of all you guys/girls. It gives me a lot of insight on Roger’s game and helps me through sad times. In fact, last Saturday and Sunday it helped me a lot because most of you guys thought he would lose – that made me watch the match with way less nerves than I would have had without that information π
So: thanks for everything, Jonathan!
A star comment!
[you guys thought he would lose]
No…we guys thought he had nothing to lose.
Thanks π
7th, it’s hopeless.
Hopeless…..
Agreed! Comments rigged. Emerson comments embedded with post before general public. No point commenting. Waste!
Shameful!
Hahahahaha, i wish it was like that. Sometimes i’mm just awake at 4am or 5am in the morning because i am going to the tennis courts.
#GoRoger
RF is the ?
of ?
Baaaa!
Sid, you seem joyful, today… π
Tom Brady is ? too!
What a return! A return that was mind-blowing!
Any awards for contributions Jonathan.
Just kidding. Being a part of this blog is award enough with such a passionate and interactive group of people.
Awesome T-shirt though.
Ah, really, important point Murli – You and Alex and Wanda and other frequent poets and reporters deserve – REALLY! (I would myself like a shirt in the cheeky RF winner model… – and gladly pay for it a (reasonable) price – )
For a RF labeled shirt, the price is really reasonable. Reporters? Could you give an example of a reporter?
Agreed Murli, oh I meant about ‘being a part of this blog…. bit. Well, actually agreed all your points!
I wouldn’t mind the awesome T-shirts myself, it’s okay if not a petite size, Jonathan π
It looks like they have sold out already? I never even saw them for sale so not sure what happened. Maybe they went so quick.
Nice T-shirt. Does it come in other colourways? I’m not too fond of blue.
Oops, sorry, forgot you’d put a link to the Nike website, Jon. Could be tempted myself if it came out in, say, red.
Would have like it to be white and black only because it would not only be classic, but it would match Fed’s kit colours we saw in AO 2017.
Just white and blue I think. Guess they done it to match the blue of the AO.
Hahaha, love you guys. This fun Fed fan club has been really a place giving me a mental stability. Otherwise I would’ve gone insane every time Fed misses BP, unable to hold service games or loses bloody Wimby finals.
Well done and thanks Jonathan and contributors for the wonderful job, congrats winners! And last but the most, all commenters, without you, the peRFect tennis is not the same π
Tusen takk.
By the way I just realized that Switzerland holds all hard court slams right now. And Djokovic is one slam away from being slam-less after holding all four.
And if Stan wins French and Roger Wimbledon…we would have a Swiss slam!
Why not Roger both French and Wimbledon? π
Most of the time we comment about Federer or tennis in general. Would like to devote this comment to Perfect-Tennis.Com and what better way than an acrostic
P-recise
E-rudite
R-egular
F-actual
E-ducative
C-ontributory
T-opical
T-rustworthy
E-bullient
N-atural
N-oteworthy
I-ncisive
S-ensible
C-omprehensive
O-bjective
M-agical
That is PERFECT-TENNIS.COM for sure.
So nice it all π Congrats to all π
Wow
Haha nice. Wonder what it would have been if it I was still on the .co.uk π
[It also shows us how boring tennis could have become if they didnβt slow down court speeds in recent times]
Another stupid and ignorant comment from Ruan.
If you look at the AO2017 final, it had everything. Aces, service winners, points won at the net, and a healthy amount of baseline rallies. Compare that to the slug fests between Djokovic and Nadal. Did you know that Djokovic in winning the 2011 Wimbledon served and volleyed just once (the penultimate point of the final)? Yes, you heard that right. He won Wimbledon by serving and volleying just once!!! Why is it that slowing down the surface at Wimbledon is fine, but a faster Rod Laver arena is for Federer’s benefit.
How does slowing down the court make things more interesting? A faster Rod Laver court is what allowed Istomin to take out Djokovic. And Zverev did that to Murray. Nishikori, a ridiculously solid baseliner nearly took out Federer.
Faster courts even the playing field. Could Federer have won more slams if the surfaces were faster. Of course! And that’s because he has the greatest all court game ever.
Jesus Christ, Ruan! Grow up! Your man will win more slams. There will be more glory for you. So calm down. π
Slow court = Boring tennis. Some people just don’t get it, do they?
Ruan seems to be one of those guys that make false statements only to defend his fav player.
Let’s just leave him alone, shall we? We here are intelligent people, and Ruan is proving that he is not as intelligent as some would thought he might be… So why mess with him? He is a tunnel vision man who only sees Djokovic. No point of following his blog, all content could be great, but he turns it into plain BS!!!
Example:
I am particularly referring to Djokovic completing the personal slam at the French Open. That was something Federer could never achieve and on top of that he had lost four very significant slam matches against Djokovic since 2014. (still didn’t realise Djoko’s drop)
It also shows us how boring tennis could have become if they didnβt slow down court speeds in recent times. Federer may have won something like 25 slams by now and dominated for even longer which would have been awfully boring. (WTF!?!)
I have no doubt whatsoever that Nadal would have won had the court speed been the same as last year. But then neither Federer nor Nadal would have made the final. It is way more likely that Djokovic and Murray would have been in the final.
Iβm also certain of the fact that Djokovicβs loss was caused by the considerably faster courts this year. As a Djokovic fan, it is a tough thing to accept, especially since he was just about back to his peak level again after defeating Murray in Doha.
Murrayβs loss to Zverev is another dead giveaway that the court speed was drastically different. A serve-and-volley player in the quarters of the Australian Open? Are you kidding me? And that after defeating the world number one?
(facepalm)
I can now officially conclude that Ruan is a 12 year old going keyboard crazy.
Federer was at his peak in 2007 winning 3 slams, and was riding on 10 straight final appearances with 8 wins. And guess what they did? They changed the AO surface from Rebound Ace to Plexicushion, slowing down the speed. Do you think that was the reason Federer lost AO to Djokovic in 2008? Perhaps they wanted Djokovic to rise? After all the struggles Djokovic went through in his life, including bombs dropping around the tennis courts he used to practice on, I believe he deserved a slam. For Srbija! Ajde Nole! Hmmm…I wonder.
Ruan should consider himself lucky I do not comment on his blog. Oh wait…he can always ban me, no?
They did it because they probably wanted to stop the RF’s dominance. They wanted to see Djoko, Rafa, Murray and other to be at their peak. Now it seems that they have possibly changed their minds. (Did Fed secretly threaten to sue them??? ?)
Well, the way I see it, Djokovic, Nadal, and Murray were given a solid 5 years of slower court speeds and at least Djokovic made hay. Time’s up! Need to get back to a few years of faster courts. Guess who’s still around? π
FeddyGOAT smelled vulnerable preys, when the fast tennis courts appeared. As the preys all heard of his return, they were fearing for their life. FeddyGOAT was hungry, and aimed a new domination. As the first rounds of the tournament passed by, FeddyGOAT silently killed his opponents. The supporters of FeddyGOAT were uncertain if he would win vs Bird, but FeddyGOAT transformed himself into an untameable beast, and killed Bird with a strong performance. The fourth round was scarily similar, but the opponent was KeiNinja. KeiNinja was one of those never-give-up guys on the tour. FeddyGOAT won a long match, even if his fans feared he might concede in the 5th set. QF’s came, as FeddyGOAT faced MischaClassical. No match for FeddyGOAT here, he destroyed MischaClassical. After the match, FeddyGOAT was able to defend his points with success. SF were unexpected by FeddyGOAT’s fans. They knew the draw would be tough. FeddyGOAT has aged, and couldn’t possibly win a slam in such draw. He was not what he was, clearly.
SF’s came, as FeddyGOAT met StanOneSlamWonderCryBabyCrybyMirka. FeddyGOAT killed his opponent, but 5 sets proved to be a challenge for him. FeddyGOAT fans feared for his leg, but FeddyGOAT prevailed on the 5th set. FeddyGOAT faced his nemesis RafaToro, in the finals… RafaToro fans were happy,and FeddyGOAT fans were crying. Their H2H said it all. FeddyGOAT was destined to lose this match. The two fighters fought with passion, as one was playing gracefully, and the other rather pushing his opponent. At the start of the fifth set, RafaToro attacked FeddyGOAT, and took lead. FeddyGOAT fans thought everything was over. FeddyGOAT wasn’t done, although he was behind, he continued to fight and fight… At the end of the match, the unbelievable happened. FeddyGOAT killed RafaToro to not only win his 18th grand slam, but get his revenge from AO 2009 as well. FeddyGOAT returned to the top 10. Calmly, gracefully, but also aggressively, FeddyGOAT won AO 2017. He send an important notice to DjokoTronic, AndyBarron and all other tennis players. He solidified his GOAT status because of this slam. FeddyGOAT was back for good, as he was seeking to return in his greatest form. Will FeddyGOAT deliver? Will FeddyGOAT make his fans ecstatic? Will FeddyGOAT continue to play in this unexpected form? To continue….
[StanOneSlamWonderCryBabyCrybyMirka]
Wait…what? Stan has three slams.
I know Waw has three slams, but here, I want to mention that he wins one slam each year if we follow 2014 and after…
I wonder how much Federer is averaging starting 2011. Any idea?
Averaging what precisely?
Slam wins per year? π
Oh that’s easy?
1998 = 0
1999 = 0
2000 = 0
2001 = 0
2002 = 0
2003 = 1 (Wimbledon)
2004 = 3 (AO,WM,US)
2005 = 2 (WM,US)
2006 = 3 (AO,WM,US) Note that FO 2006 was the 1st time Fed was beaten in a GS final…
2007 = 3 (AO,WM,US)
2008 = 1 (US)
2009 = 2 (FO,WM)
2010 = 1 (ΠΠ)
2011 = 0
2012 = 1 (WM)
2013 = 0
2014 = 0
2015 = 0
2016 = 0
2017 = 1 (AO)
To continue…
I think they did because they wanted a more competitive open.
Look what happened in 2007 – Possibly the greatest level ever in a grandslam – Fed won ao 7 without dropping a set. And courier himself joked that fed got bored lol.
What is the way to insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
Why read his blog and expect something different? Life’s too short.
Life’s too short, like you said. We shouldn’t waste our times doing stupid things…
Found this when ruan was more shall we say, sane?
http://theultimatetennisblog.com/2011/06/page/5/
“Where do I start? Surely no words can do justice to what happened yesterday. I will try anyway. Let me just say first of all congratulations to all the Fedfans that hung in there an kept the faith. I am not one of them. I have lost a lot of faith in Roger of late, lets be honest. I have always had huge faith in Roger. But having watched him this year I could not help but lose faith. Djokovic beat him three straight times and Nadal twice, two of them being crushing losses. He was not in the top two anymore. He was now a distant third. It was just too much to bare. Roger was always in the top two, even if he wasnβt the top dog. He was always there to keep Nadal honest at least. But of late a player named N0vak Djokovic came along, threatening to replace Roger in the top two for good. I wasnβt used to Roger being in this position.
And I wasnβt used to the way he was playing. There wasnβt any more GOAT-like performances. It just looked like 2011 was really gonna be the year where we saw him lose touch with the best for good. I was missing the invincible Federer and his sublime performances. But what transpired yesterday in Paris was simply out of this world. You think we should change JesusFed to Goderer? At 29 years old and seemingly in the twilight of his career, Roger was once again playing like the tennis god of his prime. To put in this performance at a stage of his career where he has been written off my so many(including me), adds to his GOAT status without a shadow of a doubt. Iβm not gonna lie, I was conflicted during this match right up to the end. I still thought Djokovic was the more likely player to end Nadalβs reign of terror in the final.”
This is one of the first few posts where I think the resentment began to set in for Ruan and changed him the way he is now
Dubai is one of the fastest courts and its so amazing to watch tennis because of that.
Djokovic has gone on record saying that the speed of the court is to his disadvantage in Dubai and suits Fed.
Thus he is giving it a miss this year.
Rafa, Novak & Andy’s ascendancy is solely due to the slower courts, where they have all the time to set up their shots. Take the slowness away and you will catch all of them flat-footed for sure.
Barring Fed, of course, who plays real tennis.
You will be there in Dubai, right? Hope so! Would love to read your fun report or poem π
Was reading some old posts and found this:
Jonathan
July 9, 2016 at 1:05 pm
Yeah as soon as Raonic went 5, then Murrayβs name was being etched on the trophy. No way Fed can play 2 x 5 setters and win a slam.
I guess Jonathan couldn’t be more happier about being wrong haha!
Federer was struggling with injuries then. AO2017 was different. Faster courts. Healthier Federer after a long break.
Guys, remember one thing…
Wimbledon is a grass tournament, yet the court behaves like a clay court…
Before, Wimbledon was super super fast… Balls bounced really low, and were fast. A lot of variety… Now, Wimbledon is a slow court. Federer can win 5 setters in a slam with fast courts because it advantages him…. Don’t expect Federer to win 5 setters in a slam with a slow court because Djoko and others won’t kill him technically, but physically. I just hope that Wimbledon will be a faster court this year, so that we can BEL19VE….
Yeah I never thought it possible tbh, but I guess I never saw a 6 month break coming. Could he have won a slam with 2 or 3 five setters if he hadn’t got injured? Not sure…
Do you guys think the new racquet could have any role to play, I went back and looked at his defeats to Djokovic and Nadal over the past 5 years. This year what seems to be different are a) RF 3.0 – a Rejuvenated RF, b) Ageing Nadal, c) Faster Courts and maybe d) A racquet that was designed from ground up for RF’s game.
In the earlier years, RF could never seem to muster the thump off his backhand or his forehand to really penetrate the defences of the defensives. All they had to do was keep going to his back hand and force the error.
This year, he seemed to be ripping them and also the serves had that much more bite to them. Opinions?
I watched the 50 best shots of the AO17 on youtube and was amazed for frequent other players went up to the net. I don’t recall that I had seen the net rush as much as in the AO17 – amazing. Surely, that could put Wimble into the shame, if they won’t put their act together to present genuine and proper grass courts.
Work on the grass starts as soon as the final is finished, so probably already determined the speed. They’ll never change the type of grass back but they could make the ground softer so it’s less like an Australian test wicket.
Our hero gave all. A due homage to Peter Carter, the legendary coach who may have had greatest impact on all what we love about Fed’s game, attitude and behavior on court. Roger then got his due prize and praise, as mentioned some times. And happiness happened to the greatest (as ever?) amount of fans, yes. But Rog has mentioned a couple of times that his body started to ache after the first 3? rounds, – so now I think, and will gladly wait out necessary time for his restitution before next possible wins. – Expectations are high now. – Health is the important thing, though.
Aim is not to play a lot of tournaments… He should just play the important ones…
And the important are the fun ones, where he feels healthy and hungry.
Indeed!
Kraijeck asked him to play Rotterdam after Stan & Nadal withdrew but he said no.
Fed is the Brady is the Jordan is the Gretzky is the…
Please don’t put Federer and the cheater in the same bracket.
Read a random comment in some article in 2015
“Fed’s reaching the finals itself was a greater accomplishment than Djokovic winning. Come on guys, Nadal is 5 years younger and Djokovic 6 years”
In retrospect, Fed’s winning a GS, a year and half later and that too with all the other factors apart from Nadal being 5 years younger, has put Fed in a place of his own, several notches higher than any sportsperson in the planet, past or present.
GOAT which now reads GOAT OF ALL THINGS.
Yes, people seem to forget that Roger is so much older, especially in tennis terms. People slot him in with Djokovic and Murray thinking they are in the same era.
Yes, nice, isn’t it? Serena is just as old, and some people, maybe including herself, think she has accomplished even more. Is she great(er) then? For me no. A great person includes more than just winning. It’s great, when a great person wins. And super happy when great person wins a lot. Yes?
Well said Muser. Winning is just one part of greatness. Its what comes with it in terms of sportsmanship, humility, attitude etc, which set apart the truly great.
In that perspective, Serena cannot hold a candle to Fed or for that matter anybody else who is even close.
And Sue, you have a huge point there. based on Fed’s game and results, peopel always tend to equate him with Novak & Andy.
On the flip side, Rafa who is just a year older than Novak & Andy is called a veeteran due to his prolonged absences and comebacks.
Fed is the only oldie holding his own against the younger ones and as it looks like will continue to hold.
Hey guys, what’s up?? How are you all handling it almost 2 weeks after?? Me…. I am just sooooo OBSESSED with the 5th set. I watch it like twice a day π Seriously. Like literally. Not a joke π 18th is in the bag and not like they all say that the best chance would be at Wimby or USO. Nope, Goat had other plans. AO plans π So…. here is to Roger winning RG π Well…. he has to play it first obviously π
So…. RG here we come. Watch out Rafa, we will kick your butt in your own house. And definitely watch out Satan…. we will be coming for you too….. so much to avenge π
Ps: See what happens when half of Hollywood, half of the fashion world and half of the music world ISN’T in Roger’s box?? See…. he actually wins π Let this be a lesson to you Goat. No more Gavin Rossdale, Gwen Stefani, Bradley Cooper, etc in your box π And definitely not Anna Wintour π
#justsaying
Funny, I’d been blaming Roger’s other losses on Bradley’s presence, now you come to mention it π
Hollywood stars? Who??? Most of them are overrated… Now sorry for this maybe strange opinion, but I think that almost all Hollywood stars are treated like gold, and they shouldn’t be. They’re just normal people, and I don’t see them that better than a normal actor or signer who can be just as good… Remember there are surely A LOT of super talented people in the world who are ignored for many reasons…
Of course. But they, and the team around them, filmmakers and so on, are good at making them identifiable images. To be famous is much more/less than being just good, an illusion making many people gasp. And genius’s are very often a hidden creature, into essentially and only his or her joyous task of life. And where hype may mostly be disturbing their job. But a genuine genius like Roger is meeting our longing for seeing greatness in the most kind way I have ever seen. Cheers for him!
Agree! Cheers!
I didn’t like it that time Bradley Cooper and Gerard Butler were in the royal box in matching suits playing up to the camera, well annoying. But Cooper is actually a big fan as it turns out. I think Rossdale is too but not seen him on the scene since nannygate.
Nobody emailed me yet about prizes π
I’m looking at the Nike website now and it says the RF18 is sold out. I setup monitoring to email me as soon as it changed, so dunno if it sold out in seconds or is just wrong??
I do like T-Shirt but just as you mentioned that it said not available for USA even very same day you posted this article ( it did shown avail in UK). I assume its sold out in UK too. I’ll reach out in twitter.
Hey, it’s been a long time since I commented here. Of course like many of you out here, even I’m still basking in the glow of Fed’s triumph. I’m definitely gonna get back to commenting more often here.
@Jonathan, I emailed you my preference. Sorry for being late. π